Low Expectations

[plonq]

Maybe I am a bad person for it, but I have very low expectations for our Museum of Human Rights that is due to open very shortly. I think that the building itself is quite stunning architecturally, especially when juxtaposed against the city that hosts it. There will probably be some very good, in-depth coverage of topical and important human rights throughout history from around the world; stories of triumph and tragedy alike.

On the other hand, there are so many players involved from financial backers with an agenda, to a federal government with its own agenda, that I think there are going to be some strikingly absent, or at least seriously downplayed issues that deserve a lot more attention. Without going into a lot of detail, imagine if the Koch brothers were major backers for a museum of worker rights, or The Muslim Brotherhood was sponsoring an exhibition on women's rights in exchange for some say in editorial content, and you might understand my concerns for the integrity of our new museum.

Maybe my concerns are unfounded, and it will be an unbiased bastion of education.

But I can't shake the feeling that it won't be.

Sure is pretty, though.

Comments

[aurifer.livejournal.com]

From the sky (in Google Earth) it looks like a severed dinosaur foot!

I like everything except that spire on the top. It looks unfinished.

I also heard they were giving away opening-day tickets for free, so there's a remote possibility they'll all be taken by activists. They won't come, and the major story of the day would be about how dead it was on the opening day.

I'd like to see it, though. I think a lot of people don't really understand the potential for change this could bring. if they do a good job of it, of course. I don't have a prediction either way; I'll just wait and see.